POMONA >> In years past, the city has made significant strides in its efforts to reduce homelessness but those numbers have begun to increase, and sharply.

Councilwoman Cristina Carrizosa said during a recent City Council study session that public safety encompasses more than police and fire services or violent crime. The homeless and their encampments represent a public safety concern, too.

Councilwoman Paula Lantz said a few years ago, through various steps, the number of homeless in the city declined by 50 percent but the number has risen again.

The number of homeless has increased by nearly 50 percent, Benita DeFrank, Pomona’s neighborhood housing services manager, said last week.

In 2013 Pomona had 630 homeless but information gathered through the 2015 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count in January indicated Pomona now has 912 homeless, DeFrank said.

The figures, provided by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, showed that 324 of the homeless had shelter and were staying at places such as temporary or emergency shelters. The remaining nearly two-thirds were living in streets, cars, encampments and other places.

Pomona wasn’t the only place in Los Angeles County to experience such a sharp increase.

“There has been an across-the-board increase in homelessness,” DeFrank said.

“You look at L.A. County as a whole and there was an increase.”

The various regions within the county had increases ranging from 7 percent to 47 percent, she said.

Determining what caused the increase in homelessness requires a careful review of what has been taking place since 2013, DeFrank said.

It’s possible the state’s prison realignment played a part in the rise, she said.

To reduce overcrowding at state prisons some low-level felons were sent to county jails. To accommodate the low-level felons, some inmates at county jails have been released early.

Plans call for holding a community forum on homelessness at the end of August are being spearheaded by members of the health committee of Pomona’s Promise, a group that includes residents, business people, educators, faith-based organizations and others that are working to address crime and its underlying issues.

The forum will be a chance to discuss what is known about homelessness, what is surmised and what needs to be done, DeFrank said.

The forum will also provide a means to collect residents opinions and discuss “how we can all work together,” she said. “There’s not one entity that’s going to solve homelessness.”

Carrizosa said the city must also look at itself and try to determine what it and others in the city, such as church groups, are doing to attract homeless people to the city.

City Manager Linda Lowry said many of the homeless have ties to the city but others are attracted to Pomona because as a large city it has a concentration of services provided through the county.

Lantz said the city must look at what other cities around the country are doing to work with the homeless and address the needs of those who want stable housing and those who prefer to live on the streets.

Establishing a place where the homeless can find food, showers and other services and a place where agencies can go to provide assistance is an approach some cities have been using to address the problem successfully, she said.

“It’s a real conversation we have to have,” Lantz said.

Councilman Nolte said efforts to address homelessness should include particular attention to homeless families.

“I’m concerned about the families and kids we don’t see,” he said, “The effect (homelessness) has on kids is tremendous.”

Mayor Elliott Rothman asked city administrators that after the forum the matter should be placed on a future City Council agenda.

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